Franco’s latest uncharted turn is both shocking and not-so-shocking, considering the era we live in. The shocking part is that a recent Oscar-nominee would agree to have a close up photo of his naked bum grace the cover of Flaunt, the Los Angeles-based fashion magazine. That’s right kids; you can go out and purchase a close to life-size photo of Franco’s sweet cheeks, ready for framing or sleeping with under your pillow. The not-so-shocking part is that we live in a world where we’ve seen paparazzi photos of Britney and Lindsay’s naughty bits and sex tapes of Kim Kardarshian, Paris Hilton, Eric Dane and more. At this point in time, a 2-D picture of an actor's butt seems almost…well, family friendly.

James Franco’s ass stares at me from my desktop. it almost farts in my face. It feels like it wants to. Like it’s wanted to for weeks. But alas, this two-dimensional ass can’t blast any audible sass. It’s simply a photo, intended for our art cover—its gassy desires aren’t relevant. Of relevance is: how did we get here? How did Flaunt Magazine find itself a participant, throughout kept at an usual arm’s length, in the multiplicitous James Franco off-the-backlot artistry—what some amidst the fray might call an egoistic cluster-fuck, but what we’ll call a modern portrait of an ambitious man of means—onto not one, but two covers? [...]